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The Student Voice of The University of Scranton

Volume 86, Issue 9

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI takes historic step down
commentary by
REV. Rick Malloy, s.j.
This week we saw something that hasn’t happened
in 719 years -- a pope resigned. This is a wise and
humble choice on the part
of Benedict XVI. He has
led the church since 2005,
taking over from the charismatic and beloved John
Paul II. Admittedly more
shy and less media savvy
and charismatic than his
predecessor, Benedict has
charmed many he visited,
e.g., during his USA trip in
2008.
Celestine V in 1294 A.D.
was the last pope to voluntarily resign as the leader of
the Roman Catholic Church.
(Gregory XII was forced to
resign in 1415, and so ended a painful schism in the
Western church where two
popes were claiming the
papacy).
Benedict’s eight years as
head of the world’s more
than one billion Catholics
have not been easy. He had
to deal with the never-ending revelations of priests’
sex scandals and bishops’

photo courtesy of wikimedia commons

POPE BENEDICT XVI is preparing to resign from the papacy, effective Feb. 28. This event marks
the first time a Pope has stepped down in 719 years.
mishandling of these matters. Benedict XVI has been
less the conservative enforcer some predicted and
has certainly not made the
conservative –liberal logjam
any worse than it was when
he took office. Still, rela-

tions with religious women,
and especially two well-respected female theologians,
Margaret Farley and Elizabeth Johnson, did not please
the Catholic left. But the
Catholic right has not been
pleased with what some

see as his unwillingness to
take a hard line and “crack
down” on dissenters.
This Pope is a brilliant
theologian and an astute
reader of the signs of the
times.
He realizes that
women and men of faith

gain more by the patient
and prayerful work of persuasion than the bludgeon
of deafening dogma. In the
long run, dictators never
win the true allegiance of
hearts and minds.
Especially in his writ-

ings (hundreds of articles,
multiple books, Encyclicals
and three recent popular
books on the life of Jesus),
Benedict has been a voice
of faith grounded in solid
biblical scholarship. In an
“America” magazine article, the Rev. Jim Martin,
S.J., notes, “in [his] books,
the pope brought to bear
decades of scholarship and
prayer to the most important question that a Christian can ask: Who is Jesus?
This is the pope’s primary
job--to introduce people to
Jesus--and Pope Benedict
did that exceedingly well.”
Benedict’s voice calls for
faith in an age where faith
is fragile. The erosion of
faith in European and firstworld countries threatens
the life of the church. Yet
hope rises where the church
is blossoming, in places
like Africa, Asia and Latin
America. China has seen
Christianity grow exponentially in recent decades.
In his “Introduction to
Christianity,”
Benedict
writes, “one could very well
describe Christianity as a

Kindness on the Internet
is blossoming and is finally
counteracting cyber bullying.
Campus Compliments
has finally made its way
into The University’s community.
Compliments is a social
media trend that went viral
when four students created
a Facebook page at Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario. Originally, social media used an “honesty box”
for people to leave anonymous messages for their
friends.
This led to cyber bullying and eventually to six
suicides. According to CBC
News, Four Queens University students, Rachel Albi,
Erica Gagne, Jessica Jonker
and Amanda Smurthwaite
started the Facebook page
to counteract the bullying.
Since then, it has become a
widespread Internet trend
among high schools and
colleges.
This remedy for cyber
bullying has reached The
University
Community.
Scranton Compliments is
a Facebook page set up by
an anonymous moderator that gives students the
more opportunity to tag
their friends in anonymous
words of praise.
The moderator agreed to
do an interview, but would
only agree to do it over

Facebook to remain completely anonymous. The
moderator also requested
to only be referred to as
“She.”
“Scranton Compliments
is a place where you can
do acts of kindness that
will not only make you feel
great but has the ability
make someone else’s day
amazing and I think that is
a magical thing,” “She” said.
“She” started the Scranton Compliments page Jan.
31. “She” does the page
completely on her own and
chose not to reveal herself
to anyone.
“I have taken a personal
oath to not share such private information. I feel that
if the campus community
is willing to trust me, I am
obligated to keep such information sealed to myself
alone,” “She” said.
“She” said that she decided to do it after watching a video on the perspective of happiness and how
random acts of kindness
can switch a mood both
for the benefactor and the
recipient.
“The video suggested
that by performing acts
of kindness and spreading love in the world you
will receive love in return,”
“She” said, “I feel that so
far[Scranton Compliments]
has been a huge success
and I am extremely proud
of what Scranton Compliments has become.”
University students

are giving the Scranton
Compliments page nothing but praise. University
senior Mike Trischetta was
pleased upon receiving a
Scranton compliment.
“It feels great. I love
the community it forms,
and it’s super fun to return compliments. Props to

whoever created this. I can
see it lasting a long time,”
Trishetta said
University sophomore
Tim Matsay said his Scranton Compliment made his
day. He said that he

See “COMPLIMENTS,”
Page 3

Among the new additions to campus this semester, dining services
upgraded its operating
system and installed 15
new cash registers that
cost close to $100,000.
Dining Services Resident District Manager,
Ted Zayac, said they
needed to replace an operating system that was
more than 20 years old
and that the cash registers were a small part of
the overhaul.
“The main change was
behind the scenes.” Zayac
said. “When we made the
change, we had to upgrade registers.”
Zayac said they upgraded to a Windows
based system, and Sequoia Retail Systems provided the new cash registers.
“We had been talking about the shortcomings of the old system
for years, but only as the
newer technology has become available I would
say in the last 6 months
we really saw a solution.”
Zayac said. “We made the
decision for sure back in
August.”
First floor DeNaples
Center cashier Joan Parry
said she is now comfortable using the new registers after a learning period.

INSIDE

Campus Notes......2
News....................3-5

Forum............ 6-7
Arts & Life...8-9

Business......10-11
Sci & Tech........12

Faith.................13
Sudoku/Ads...14

Justin dwyer
News Correspondent

Submitted Photo: corrine diogiovine for the aquinas

AN ANONYMOUS University student moderates
the Scranton Compliments Facebook page.

“The beginning was
very difficult, but after
a few days training over
Intercession I got used to
it,” Parry said. “The icons
on the screen are bigger
and overall I don’t mind
using the registers.”
Junior Amanda Stahl
said she is glad The University decided to upgrade to the better technology, but it took time
for employees to get adjusted to using the new
registers.
“I think it definitely is
a good thing that we are
upping our technology,
but at the same time I
don’t like the credit card
part of it. I think we all
just have to be more patient with each other,”
Stahl said.
Zayac said he is happy
with the new system and
it should last for years to
come.
“This
new
system
should last for 20 years
and has tremendous capabilities in terms of reporting and adding features such as possibly
looking at a way to order
food remotely on your
smart phone,” Zayac said.
“That’s in the future. We
just got a new system,
but there is more possibilities and opportunities
to expand and address
the needs of our students
and The University community.”
Sports......15-16
http://issuu.com/theaquinas

THE AQUINAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

NEWS

3

Students able to reserve library study rooms online
eric HurD
Staff Writer
As one of The University’s
most popular spots for students to study, The Weinberg
Memorial Library continues
to look for ways to improve
its services for the community.
An experiment giving
students the opportunity to
reserve the new group study
rooms on the second floor of
the library is being conducted
throughout the month of February.
Students can access the
reservation program by signing onto my.scranton.edu
and opening the link under
personal announcements labeled “Library Wants Student
Feedback.” Once the page is
open, students can choose
the date and time they want
to reserve up to a week in advance.
In order to complete the
reservation, the student’s full
name and school email address are required.
The assistant dean of the

library, Jean Lenville, said the
idea for the experiment came
from a survey conducted in
October 2012 called LibQUAL.
The library conducts this
national survey every three
years to get an understanding of what the students,
staff and faculty expect from
the library.
“One of the things people
have been asking for a while
is the ability to reserve study
rooms,” Lenville said. “Since
we have these new study
rooms and a program that
we use for other services, we
thought that this would be
the perfect opportunity to
test this out, get some feedback to see what they like
and don’t like and then see
if this something we want to
move forward with.”
Group study rooms have
always been a popular place
to get group work done on
campus. Students, however,
constantly talk about how
difficult it is to get into one,
especially when other students leave their belongings
in these rooms unattended.
Jillian Himelrick, a sopho-

more occupational therapy
student, uses the library three
to four times a week to do
her work. She is one of many
students at The University
who find it difficult to get access to a group study room.
“It’s almost impossible,”
Himelrick said. “It’s even hard
to get a table on some days.
It’s all about timing.”
When asked about the
ability to reserve study
rooms, many students did
not know about the experiment the library is conducting. This has not stopped
Himelrick and her friend
Bridget Hanley, a sophomore
psychology student, from using the new study rooms.
“We had no idea that we
could reserve it,” Hanley said.
“But this isn’t the first time
we used this room.”
Lenville said a committee
was formed over intersession
in order to test out the product, find issues and set guidelines in order to make the
process easier for students.
Two of the major guidelines
are the ability to make a reservation a week in advance

the aquinas photo / emma bLack

THE WEINBERG Memorial Library is allowing students to reserve study rooms on
the second ﬂoor. Students can find the reservation program on the MyScranton
website.

and only allowing two hours
in a room each day.
When asked if the ability
to reserve study rooms would
ever be available for the entire library, Lenville said there
was potential depending on
the results from this test.
“We want to meet needs

and not lock people out,”
Lenville said. “ Maybe we
would do it for a floor at time
to phase it in and see how
it’s going, because it’s always
nice to have a room available
even when you didn’t think
you needed one in advance.
We want to be aware of ev-

eryone’s needs.”
One major difference that
students noticed between
the new study rooms and the
other rooms is that the walls
of the reserved rooms are
not completed, allowing for
excess noise even when the
door is closed.

colleen Day
News Editor

In the most recent iPhone
robbery, a University student was held at gunpoint
when the student attempted to recover a stolen
iPhone using the device’s
GPS feature, according to a
University Community Advisory.
The incident occurred
around 3 a.m. Feb. 8 on the
400 block of Kellum Court.
A total of seven robberies
involving iPhones have occurred so far this academic
year. Although there were
no iPhone robberies over
intersession, University Police Chief Donald Bergmann
said he is concerned that
the new iPhone 5 will be a
target this semester.
“I have definitely noticed
an increase in crimes involving iPhones since they’ve
become more popular. We
didn’t have this many robberies last year. You have
to keep your cell phone in
your pocket. You pull it out
and you become a potential
target,” Bergmann said.
The increase in crimi-

nal activity related to the
iPhone is not limited to The
University.
The New York City Police
Department reported thefts
involving iPhones have increased 40 percent this year
compared with last year.
“If they were of no value
there would be no reason to
steal them. There’s a market. The value is hard to
determine. I just looked up
an unlocked iPhone 5 on
Craigslist that was going for
$525. By stealing one phone
they’re making way more
than they would holding up
a convenience store, and it’s
less dangerous,” Bergmann
said.
Smartphone users can
also use a passcode and
apps such as “Find My
iPhone” to protect personal
information.
Joseph Casabona, an
adjunct computer science
instructor, said iPhone owners should know what tools
they have to keep their
phones and personal information safe.
Casabona recommends
the Apple app “Find My
iPhone,” which can be used
to locate lost Apple de-

vices as long as there is a
data connection. The app
features a map that tracks
the phone’s location. “Find
My iPhone” allows users to
lock Apple devices and delete personal data. Through
the app, the device can also
be placed on “Lost Mode”
which will lock the phone,
display a contact phone
number on the screen and
keep track of recent locations.
“iPhones are connected
to both data and Wi-Fi, so its
location is going to be really
accurate. I would also recommend putting a secure
passcode on your phone so
that your personal information is safe. You can choose
to delete the personal data
through the app if it’s ever
stolen,” Casabona said.
Although the app can
locate a lost device, Bergmann urges students to
report the stolen iPhone to
University Police.
“Although there are a
number of ways to use the
iPhone’s built-in GPS tracker
to locate the stolen phone,
don’t try to recover it yourself. Get police help,” Bergmann said.

philosophy of freedom”
and “The Christian message is basically nothing
else than the transmission of the testimony that
love has managed to break
through death here and
thus has transformed fundamentally the situation of
us all.”
The Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., argues in an
“America” magazine article
that Benedict’s “encyclical
‘Caritas in Veritate,’ with
its affirmation of structural
reform as ‘political charity’ and his call for a global
authority to regulate the
financial sector, may be
the most radical since John

XXIII’s ‘Pacem in terris’ 50
years ago.”
In “Jesus of Nazareth,”
Benedict movingly reveals
his view of God who exists
in loving relationships. “We
see that to be God’s child is
not a matter of dependency, but rather of standing
in the relation of love that
sustains man’s existence
and gives it meaning and
grandeur. One last question: Is God also Mother?
The Bible does compare
God’s love with the love of
a mother. … The mystery
of God’s maternal love is
expressed with particular
power in the Hebrew word
‘rahamim,’ … ‘womb,’ later

used to mean divine compassion, … God’s mercy.
The womb is the most concrete expression for the interrelatedness of two lives
and of loving concern…”
Joseph Ratzinger was
born in 1927 and ordained
a priest in 1951. He has
been serving the church in
many capacities for over
six decades.
He merits
some time to relax, read
and pray. Maybe he’ll even
have some more time to
write.
College students know
how to use Twitter. Tweet
the Pope at his twitter handle “@pontifex” and say,
“Thanks.”

guest swipe price value drops iPhone crime rates on the rise

the aquinas photo / shawn kenney

THESE NEW cash registers allow dining services to change the value of
guest swipes. Guest swipes are now $5.90.

joe weitemeyer
Arts & Life Editor
The absence of Dunkin’
Donuts in downstairs
DeNaples is not the only
change students should
worry about. Guest swipes
have also been altered.
The
most
notable
change in the cafes are the
new cash registers, which
have enabled the biggest
change to the meal plan
– a reduction of the dollar
amount on a guest swipe.
Ted Zayac, the resident district manager of
The University of Scranton Dining Services/ARAMARK, said the change
in value of a guest swipe,
from $8.90 to $5.90, was
a result of the register
change. The new registers
replaced the 20-year-old
networks of the old registers. Zayac said the new
network allowed them to
change the guest swipe
price to its initial price.
“It’s a fair price. It’s what
we originally wanted it to
be,” Zayac said.
Students were not in-

formed about the price
change when the semester
began, a mistake Zayac
admits.
“Intersession
was
tough. We had two weeks
to install the new systems
and train the workers,” Zayac said. “When we found
out we were able to set
the price, we just did it. I
think we should have sent
something.”
The price will not affect students who use the
swipes to enter the café
on third floor DeNaples,
since the swipe is a substitute for the price of one
meal. The price change
will, however, affect guest
swipes used in places such
as downstairs DeNaples,
the Mulberry P.O.D., and
elsewhere.
University junior Allison
DeStefano said she has
to rely on friends’ guest
swipes when she eats on
campus.
“Since I live off campus,
I don’t pay for a meal plan,”
DeStefano said. “If I want
to eat on campus, I have to
hope a friend will give me
one of their swipes.”

Although guest swipes
are intended for visiting
friends and family, many
students use them as a
substitute for cash or Flex
dollars.
University junior Ryan
Giovanetti said that guest
swipes are valuable commodities.
“If I still had guest
swipes by the end of the
semester, I would trade
or sell them to friends,”
Giovanetti said. “An $8
swipe was $5 in cash. It
helps once all your Flex
runs out.”
Flex dollars are easy
to spend, but Zayac noted just how many guest
swipes are given to students with meal plans.
“You get 18 guest
swipes,” Zayac said referring to the 10 meal plan.
“Even if you go through all
of those, we’re pretty liberal about giving you more if
you have visitors.”
In case students did not
already know, Zayac also
said you can use two guest
swipes in one sitting.
“That’s
$11.80
right
there!”

‘POPE’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

‘comPliments’ continueD From Page one

admires the time and devotion the moderator puts
into the page. He is also
intrigued by the anonymity of it.
“Because it’s kept anonymous, you have a sense
of wonder about who did

it. Regardless, it can put a
smile on anyone’s face. It
really restored my faith in
humanity,” Matsay said.
Trischetta and Matsay are
just two among the many
students who appreciate
the Scranton Compliments

page and the anonymous
moderator’s dedication.
The anonymous moderator said “She” hopes for
love to spread among the
Scranton community and
believes that this is the
best way to start.

NEWS

4

THE AQUINAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

submitted photo: Laura fay for the aquinas

SCRANTON STUDENTS and faculty stop to pose for a photo in January 2013 in Uganda. The 13 students and four faculty members spent two
weeks in Uganda to learn about Christianity in Africa and health care. The group included members of the SJLA and nursing programs.

University students spend intersession serving in Uganda
laura Fay
Staff Writer
Thirteen
University
students visited Africa in
January for the academic,
spiritual and cultural experience of their lives.
The students, members of Special Jesuit
Liberal Arts (SJLA) and
nursing programs, spent
two weeks in southwest
Uganda. They studied the
development of Christianity in Africa and the Ugandan culture while interacting with the local people,

helping with community
projects and visiting hospitals.
Senior nursing major
Mary Elizabeth Lee said
the trip solidified her faith
because of the profound
piety she saw in the people of Uganda.
“It reinforced how important faith is ... because
[in Uganda], faith is the
center of everything ...
They have faith always,
in good times and in bad
times, so I think I learned
that it’s important to have
faith not just in bad times,

but in good times,” she
said.
Lee also noted that
the experience deepened
her sense of gratitude for
what she has.
“This just reinforced the
importance of service and
being grateful for what I
have and not taking things
for granted... I’ve never
gone to bed hungry or
sick, and people there do
every day. ... It reinforced
how blessed I am,” she
said.
Lee called her time volunteering in poor Uganda

hospitals heart wrenching, but said the experience will make her more
resourceful and creative in
her career as a nurse.
“They help me more
than I help them,” she said.
Andrew Gentilucci, an
international studies and
philosophy double major,
said the best part was
building a house and playing soccer with children in
a Ugandan village.
That experience, and
the trip as a whole, made
service “a joint enterprise”
Gentilucci said. “You’re

not working for them,
and they’re not working
for you. You’re working
together, and that was
something really profound
that stuck out to me.”
Theology
professor
Charles Pinches, Ph.D., organized the trip with Daniel Haggerty, Ph.D., of the
philosophy
department
and two nursing professors, Patricia Harrington,
R.N., Ed.D., and Catherine
Lovecchio, R.N., Ph.D.
Seeing students come
away from their experiences with a new perspec-

tive on what it means to
have a rich life is the most
rewarding part of the trip
for Pinches, who has been
taking students to Uganda
since 2006.
Students who go to
Uganda find a new hope
through their experience
of common humanity
with the people they meet,
Pinches said. He called
friendship and cooperation “the bonds that hold
us,” and said the Uganda
experience helps students
realize the worth of these
basic things.

Flu activity declines, still poses ROTC students train at fall FTX
threat to university community
cHristian burne
Campus Liaison

tom Foti
Staff Writer
People all over the
country have had to combat a stealthy specimen
for the past two months.
It comes on like a fever, but when it fully
consumes the body those
infected are left with dry
coughs, sore throats and
aches all over the body.
The flu was all but invisible last year, barely
crossing the threshold of
the national baseline after
20 weeks. This current flu
season crossed the barrier after six weeks. More
than 8,000 hospitalizations have occurred since
Oct. 1 because of the flu.
This huge spike has many
doctors and nurses pondering what the causes
could be.
Patricia Popeck, B.S.N.,
M.S., R.N., and director of
The University’s Student
Health Services, has a
theory.
“I can’t give you a real
scientist version,” Popeck
said. “I think it’s like anything else. There are ebbs
and flows.”
Popeck’s assertion holds
weight in a recent chart
published by the Centers

for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). This
chart shows how each flu
season panned out. Since
the 2007-08 season, the flu
has ranged year to year
from moderately severe
to the swine pandemic of
2009 to mild in 2011-12.
As January waned, so
did the flu on the East
Coast. According to a
CDC weekly summary,
38 states reported widespread influenza activity
for the week of Feb. 2.
This is a decrease from
the 42 states of the previous week. Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and New York
are among the states still
reporting widespread activity, but cases have begun to decline.
Students across campus
are relieved to know the
virus is finally subsiding,
but are still worried about
contracting the flu.
“I had a friend who got
sick over break and she
was out of commission
for a while,” University junior Jim DiMezza, said. “ I
got my flu shot, so hopefully that will work out
for me.”
If a person contracts the
flu, he or she should stay
at home for at least 24
hours after the fever has

gone away. The CDC encourages practicing proper cough and sneezing
etiquette to prevent the
spread of germs as well
as thorough hand washing. The infected person
should also avoid touching any part of his or her
face.
Health professionals encourage flu vaccines as a
way to combat the virus.
Vaccinations usually have
a 50 to 70 percent chance
of preventing or hindering the damage of the flu.
This season, vaccinations
have a 62 percent success
rate.
If someone should choose
not to receive a vaccination, there are plenty of
other ways to reduce the
risk of contracting the
flu. Hand washing is crucial to fighting germs. Using warm water and soap
is ideal. Plenty of sleep,
good nutrition, and drinking plenty fluids will also
help.
Flu season will continue
for a few more weeks, but
there is no set timetable.
This year’s flu season has
already peaked. Until the
threat of the flu is over,
proper hygiene is essential to reducing the risk of
acquiring any illness.

As students prepared
for fall exams in December 2012, cadets of the
Royal Warrior Battalion,
Army ROTC, prepared to
conduct their Fall Field
Training Exercises. The
Exercise, referred to by
its acronym of FTX, occurs once per fall and
spring semester. The
Royal Warriors travelled
to Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst, N.J., as a
mock-up of a deployment
to the fictional country of
Atropia. Planned by Military Science IV (senior)
cadets, FTX synthesizes
all of the skills that cadets have learned in their
ROTC careers and requires them to think, act
and adapt to 48 hours of
almost constant training.
While all cadets participate in the weekend
training event, the greatest focus of FTX centers
on preparing the MS III
(junior) cadets for the
Army Leadership Development and Assessment
Course at Fort Lewis,
Wash., which they will
attend this coming summer.
“The main purpose of
FTX is to prepare the MS
III’s for LDAC and the
challenges they will face

there,” Lt. Col. Ryan Remley, the Royal Warrior
Battalion
Commander,
said.
In previous years, the
FTX has occurred in September of the fall semester. The decision to move
the event to a later date
helped facilitate a greater
degree of training.
“This FTX truly served
as the capstone event
for this semester. The
MS IV’s who planned, resourced, conducted, and
assessed FTX did a great
job,” Remley said.
Cadets and cadre departed The University on
Friday afternoon. Training commenced immediately upon arrival, with
cadets navigating a night
land navigation course
with the aid of red-lens
flashlights. A 4:00 a.m.
wake-up call signaled
the start of a long day
of training on Saturday
morning. MS III’s took
a Army physical fitness
tests followed by several
hours of maneuvers and
instruction in squad-level
tactics. MS I and II (first
year and sophomore)
cadets completed a day
land navigation course
comprised
of
eight
points, requiring them
to navigate a distance of
several miles. Roles reversed in the afternoon,

allowing all cadets to
practice a wide array of
skills. Cadets conducted
a second night land navigation course on Saturday evening.
After a few hours of
precious sleep, cadets
moved out on Sunday
morning
to
conduct
patrolling
operations.
While similar to Saturday’s squad-level operations, patrolling entails
at a much larger scale
operation, featuring longer missions and many
more cadets. Mission assignments ranged from
reconnaissance to ambushes.
After finishing their
patrols, all cadets assembled for a concluding
ceremony. Cadets then
boarded buses for the
journey back to The University.
“We really packed a lot
in to this weekend. I definitely think we improved
in many areas. I feel
much more confident going forward and as LDAC
approaches,” CDT Jarrel
Israel, MS III, said.
Though tired from the
physical and mental demands of FTX, the Royal
Warriors arrived back on
campus in high spirits
and with a sense of pride
in what they had accomplished.

6

Forum

FORUM

THE AQUINAS

Editorial Board
Christina Scully

Editor-in-Chief

Tim McCormick

Managing Editor

Ben Turcea

Forum Editor

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Serving The University and
community since 1931

Cameron announces referendum for UK
ÉinDe Ó FatHaigH
Staff Writer
British Prime Minister
David Cameron has announced that the United
Kingdom will hold an “in
or out” referendum on the
country’s European Union
membership.
Cameron
stated his intention to renegotiate the country’s relationship with the EU and
to subsequently hold a referendum in which British
citizens would have a clear
choice between accepting
new terms with the EU
or pulling out completely.
However, it was also made
clear that this would only
happen if the Conservative Party, which has been
in power in a coalition
with the Liberal Democrats since 2010, were reelected in the next general
election. This decision has
emerged amid growing
pressure from members
of the Conservative Party
as well as a growing number of British citizens who
have become disillusioned
with the European Union.
There has been a growing opposition to the EU in
Britain since the economic
downturn in 2008 and the
ensuing eurozone crisis

that has yet to be resolved.
Evidence of this opposition can be observed from
the rapid increase in support for the United Kingdom Independence Party
(UKIP). This right-wing
party was founded in 1993
and has been campaigning
for a British withdrawal
from the EU ever since.
Recent opinion polls
have portrayed UKIP’s
growing popularity and
some have even suggested
that it is now the third
most popular party in the
UK. Its leader, Nigel Farage, who once described
the current president of
the EU as having the “charisma of a damp rag and
the appearance of a lowgrade bank clerk,” has
been vocal in his opposition to the European establishment since he was
first elected to the European Parliament in 1999.
The current Euro Crisis
has threatened not just
the economic viability of
the euro currency, but it
has also forced Greece,
Ireland and Portugal to
seek bailouts from the EU
and the International Monetary Union. Moreover,
it seems that the crisis
is far from over. For example, 18.8 million people

are currently unemployed
across the eurozone (11.8
percent), the highest level
on record. Spain has an
unemployment rate of 26
percent and a staggering
youth unemployment rate
of 57 percent. Undoubtedly these factors have
influenced Cameron’s announcement. However, it
is important to note that
the UK is not part of the
eurozone, which consists
of countries that use the
euro currency. The UK
economy has nevertheless
suffered as a result of the
economic downturn and
has still not fully recovered, as illustrated by the
country’s unemployment
rate of 7.7 percent.
A number of other factors must also be noted.
Proponents of a UK withdrawal from the European
Union have argued that
such a move would see a
return of certain legislative
sovereignty to the UK that
they argue was lost when
the UK joined the EEC.
Many laws introduced in
the UK originated in Brussels, to the dismay of euro
skeptics. Euro skeptics are
quick to mention Switzerland and Norway, which
have remained out of the
European Union but have

military spouses, will include child care services,
member-designated
hospital visits and the issuing
of military ID cards, which
gives same-sex spouses and
partners access to on-base
groceries, gyms and movie
theaters. The policy changes will go into effect once
training on the new rules
is completed, which could
take up to a few months.
Advocates for equality
regarding military rights
for the LGBT community
and their families are excited about the prospect of
equality.
One such advocate is Allyson Robinson, an Army
veteran and executive director of OutServe-SLDN,
an association of actively
serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender U.S.
military personnel.
“We thank him for getting us a few steps closer to
full equality — steps that
will substantively improve

the quality of life of gay
and lesbian military families,” Robinson said.
Although this is absolutely a giant leap forward
for the LGBT community,
and for society as a whole,
there is still more work to
be done. Benefits such as
health care and housing
allowances were not included in Panetta’s plans
because of the definition
of “spouse” and “marriage”
under the federal Defense
of Marriage Act (DOMA).
This act prohibited Panetta from extending these
crucial benefits to LGBT
military members and their
spouses.
“There are certain benefits that can only be provided to spouses as defined
by that law,” Panetta said.
“While it will not change
during my tenure as secretary of defense, I foresee
a time when the law will
allow the department to
grant full benefits to service members and their
dependents,
irrespective
of sexual orientation. Until
then, the department will
continue to comply with
current law while doing
all we can to take care of
all soldiers, sailors, airmen,
marines, and their families.”
Panetta is hopeful that
DOMA will be repealed,
however. Panetta stated
that DOMA is “now being
reviewed by the United
States Supreme Court” —
offering a clear indication
that the Pentagon wants
that law overturned.

courtesy of wikimedia commons

THE UNITED Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, shown in black, has
always debated the extent to which it identifies with the European Union.

maintained strong trade
connections and have witnessed economic success.
Those who favor remaining in the European
Union argue that a British withdrawal would
tarnish relations between
the UK and other European countries, which in
turn would have negative
consequences for trade.
However, a recent survey

shows that a majority of
UK businesses favor renegotiated terms with the
EU. Furthermore, the UK
imports more goods from
European countries than it
exports.
There have been mixed
reactions to Cameron’s announcement across the
EU. However, the two
most influential states
in the Union, France and

Germany, have expressed
concern at Cameron’s decision. German Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle stated that Europe
“needed more, not less, integration.”
It remains to be seen
whether UK citizens will
accept a renewed relationship with the EU or choose
to bow out, but only time
will tell.

Panetta’s recent extension of important benefits
was certainly a win for
many advocates of equal
military rights, but also
a vicious reminder of the
complications that remain
as long as DOMA is in action.
Slowly but surely, equal-

ity will come. Repealing
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 17
months ago was the first
step. Panetta’s decision on
Monday solidified the act,
pushing it further to extend
many important benefits.
The push for equality has
undoubtedly begun.
Panetta
confidently

states that one day, “it will
be the policy of the Department to construe the words
‘spouse’ and ‘marriage’
without regard to sexual
orientation, and married
couples, irrespective of sexual orientation, and their
dependents, will be granted
full military benefits.”

Soldiers’ same-sex spouses receive beneﬁts
saraH mueller
Staff Writer

Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta took a major
step Monday in the fight
for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender military personnel
by extending key benefits
to the same-sex spouses of
service members as well as
to the unmarried partners
of gay troops.
“Taking care of our service members and honoring the sacrifices of all
military families are two
core values of this nation,”
Panetta said. “Extending
these benefits is an appropriate next step under current law to ensure that all
service members receive
equal support for what
they do to protect this nation.”
The
well-anticipated
benefits,
automatically
available to heterosexual

immigration reform moves forward
Daniel gleason
Staff Writer
Americans today seem
to easily forget the histories of their ancestors and
those who have laid the
very foundation of what
this nation is today.
Unless you are the direct descendent of a Native American who roamed
North America for thousands of years, you and
your ancestors immigrated
to this country.
We’ve seen this story
time and time again in
American history, and we’re
seeing it again today. From
the British colonists in the
early 1700s to the Irish and
Italian immigrants in the
mid-1800s to the influx of
Hispanic immigrants we
see today, immigration is
neither a recent trend nor
an overpopulation epidemic. It is simply a way of life
in American culture.
Hispanic
immigrants
face significant challenges
on the path to citizenship.
A portion of them come
into the country undocu-

mented or on temporary
work visas, and live in the
country without permanent citizenship.
A bipartisan group of
U.S.
senators
recently
carved out a plan for immigration reform. The plan,
largely based off of President Obama’s campaign
promises, calls for a “tough,
fair, and practical roadmap
to address the status of
unauthorized immigrants
in the United States that is
contingent upon our success in securing our borders and addressing visa
overstays,” according to the
Senate’s Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive
Immigration Reform.
In a nutshell, the plan
promotes employment and
education plans for immigrants while they complete
the necessary steps for obtaining American citizenship. The plan also calls
for more stringent border
control and background
checks on immigrants with
visas.
It’s an important step
forward for this country
not only for Hispanic im-

migrants, but for American citizens as well. It is a
means of acceptance and
patriotism. Where we see
the least amount of progress is in the political spectrum, namely, the media’s
coverage of how this deal
was struck.
Pundits on both sides
have argued that the Republican Party “caved” in to
the demands of the Democrat Party on immigration
because of the large majority of Hispanic-American
electorate that voted for
Obama in the 2012 election.
While it is true that the
Republicans need to make
more of an effort to resonate with this electorate,
we cannot lose sight of how
important this legislation is
to this country through political smoke clouds.
This is not an appeasement plan aimed at winning a few extra votes in
the next election. It’s a plan
that’s fair for both citizens
and non-citizens living in
this country, and it promotes the American values
we saw at Ellis Island and
beyond.

THE AQUINAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

9

‘unstoppable’ motivates readers
sHawn FlescHe
Arts & Life Contributor
“Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy,” said
Dan Gable, a famous wrestler.
Wrestlers are faced everyday
with challenges that they are
forced to overcome in order to
accomplish the goals that they
have set for themselves. There
is one wrestler in particular who
faced a challenge not just in
wrestling, but in life. Former Arizona State Sun Devil Anthony
Robles was the 2011 NCAA Division 1 National Champion at
the 125 pound weight class. He
has also received the 2011 NCAA
Best Wrestler of the National
Tournament Award, the Jimmy
V Award at the Excellence in
Sports Performance Yearly
Awards, the 2011 NFL Hispanic
Heritage Leadership Award,
and he is in the Induction Class
of 2012 to the National Wrestling
Hall of Fame. Robles is receiving
these well-deserved honors and
rewards because he won the
NCAA title with one leg.
He is an inspiration to not
just to the wrestling world but to

any individual and even wrote a
book called “Unstoppable from
Underdog to Undefeated: How I
became a Champion.”
Robles’ book has received
praise and reviews from various
people, including Jay Leno, who
wrote the forward, LaDainian
Tomlinson, Michael Oher and
Condoleezza Rice.
“Unstoppable is an inspirational narrative that captures
the essence of conquering
fears, breaking down barriers,
and never letting one’s dreams
be shattered. This is truly the
American spirit,” said Rice.
“Unstoppable” ’s main is that
despite how bad one thinks
their hardships are, there is always someone else who has it
worse. Robles even says, “I need
to redefine what I think of as
‘hardship’.”
In the introduction, Robles
praises his mother for telling him
throughout his life that there is
nothing wrong with him. Robles
explains how he was born without one leg and the dilemma
that his family faced in telling
his mother. He then talks about
the simple day-to-day things
that many people take for

granted, like walking, running
and playing. Robles addresses
the controversies surrounding
his perceived advantages when
he first started wrestling, such
as having one less limb for his
opponents to use against him,
having increased upper body
strength and weighing less than
he would with a prosthetic limb
attached. Despite his “advantages,” Robles lost more matches
then he won his freshman year
of high school. This made him
to train everyday, improving
until he reached his goal of becoming state champion. After
reaching that goal, Robles began
considering college and wanted
to become the national champion. Robles then talks about
the recruiting processes and
his choosing to attend Arizona
State University, or ASU. Once
he graduated from ASU, Robles
then decided to travel around
the country and the world as a
motivational speaker.
“Unstoppable” captures the
lifestyle of wrestling perfectly. It
is a sport that prepares its participants for the rest of their lives.
It makes the reader question if
they are doing their best.

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BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE: Lonley Boy, The Black Keys
BEST ROCK ALBUM: El Camino, The Black Keys
BEST RAP SONG: N****s In Paris, Jay-Z & Kanye West
BEST RAP ALBUM: Take Care, Drake

College of Arts and Sciences
Graduate programs at Saint Joseph’s University are your
opportunity to advance to the next level – and live greater.
There are over 25 master’s programs to choose from and flexible
schedule options that help make working on your master’s work
with your life. Don’t wait. Apply today.
The fall 2013 semester begins August 26, 2013.

Join us for an Open House, Tuesday, March 5, 2013
5:30-7:30 p.m. | Merion Hall
To register and learn more, visit sju.edu/open

•Intel confirmed plans
to offer a paid Internet
video service and accompanying set-top box, an
unusual gamble for the
chip maker.
•Apple is testing designs for a watch-like
device that would perform some functions of a
smartphone.
•Barclays
presented
a three-year strategy
that will see the lender
cut 3,700 jobs and rein
in some of ex-CEO Diamond’s expansion plans.
•Moody’s took steps to
avoid creating a trove of
potentially embarrassing
employee messages like
those that came back to
haunt former S&P employees.
•A deal between AMR
and US Airways to create
the worlds biggest airline
would likely pass U.S anti-trust scrutiny.
•Gap is retaking lost
ground after struggling
for years to get sales
moving, giving a boost to
the once-trendsetting apparel retailer.
•The Texas electricity
producer formerly known
as TXU, which once made
headlines as the biggest
leveraged buyout in U.S.
history, is now laying
groundwork for one of
the biggest debt restructurings.
•An engine fire caused
a Carnival Cruise lines
ship to get caught in the
middle of the ocean. The
National Guard quickly
came to their rescue.
•Goldman Sachs is
making major changes
to its $50 billion privateequity fund business because of the impending
“Volcker rule.”

DELL COMPUTERS is going private after 25 years of being listed on the stock market. Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners were a part of the deal. Microsoft was involved as well, writing a $2 billion loan to make the deal possible.

by Daniel massari
Staff Writer
The era of big buyouts is
back, and this time computing giant Dell Inc. (NYSE:
DELL) is at the center of it.
The company agreed Feb.
5 to accept a $24.4 billion
offer to be taken private
by members of its management team, including
founder Michael Dell, and
private-equity firm Silver
Lake Partners. If completed, the deal would be the
largest leveraged buyout
backed by private equity
since before the 2008 financial crisis.
Dell Inc., established in
a University of Texas dorm
room in 1984, pioneered
the business of “made-toorder” personal computers.
Through a series of acquisitions over the past 10 years,
Dell has expanded its product offerings to include data
storage devices, network
switches, and software
along with its personal computers. This business model
was highly successful for
Dell for many years, but
the company has struggled
recently as consumers have
shifted away from custom
PCs to devices like tablets
and smartphones. Research

firm Canalys found that
one-third of all computers
sold globally are now tablets, a major shift from just
10 years ago. At one time
the company was also the
number one producer of
personal computers in the
world, but it has slipped to
number three, behind HP
and Lenovo. Fiscal year
2012 revenue totaled $63.07
billion, with a net income of
$3.49 billion.
The use of leveraged buyouts was popular prior to
the financial crisis. In 2007,
there were five buyouts
which exceeded $20 billion,
while last year the largest
was the $7.2 billion acquisition of EP Energy Corp. by
Apollo Global Management.
In leveraged buyouts, private equity firms and their
partners acquire companies
using a mix of equity and
debt that is repaid by the
acquired company or is secured by the assets that are
being purchased. Because
debt usually has a lower
cost of capital than equity,
the returns to shareholders
are greatly multiplied. In
2006, the average buyout
of a U.S. company was $1.6
billion, versus about $931
million last year. Once completed, the deal will be the
largest technology buyout

ever, surpassing the 2006
buyout of Freescale Semiconductor for $17.5 billion.
Some industry analysts are
hopeful that this deal will
usher in a new wave of
large buyouts which have
virtually disappeared since
2008.
In order to help facilitate
the deal, Michael Dell will
contribute his almost 14
percent stake in the company, along with close to
$750 million in cash from
his investment firm, MSD
Capital. This is on top of
the $13.5 billion the buyout
group plans to raise by selling bonds. The group has
also tapped Microsoft Corp.,
which will contribute another $2 billion in the form
of a long-term loan to Dell.
Silver Lake Partners, one of
the largest technology-focused private equity firms,
will contribute $1.4 billion
in cash, and the remaining
$3 billion is to be funded by
Dell’s cash. Dell currently
has over $11 billion in cash,
mostly overseas, which the
company plans to repatriate and use to fund part of
the buyout. The deal is not
without opposition, though.
Dell Inc.’s largest independent shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management
Inc., which owns approxi-

mately 8.5 percent of outstanding shares, voiced its
opposition to the leveraged
buyout. The firm sent a letter to the Board of Directors,
which is also on file with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission,
explaining
that it felt the deal grossly
undervalues the company.
Here is an excerpt from the
letter that was published in
the Wall Street Journal the
past weekend.
“We are writing to express our extreme disappointment regarding the
proposed go-private transaction, which we believe
grossly undervalues the
Company,” the letter said.
The letter goes on to describe the firm’s actions.
“We also write to inform
you that we will not vote in
favor of the proposed transaction as currently structured,” the firm’s letter said.
“We retain and intend to
avail ourselves of all options
at our disposal to oppose
the proposed transaction,
including but not limited
to a proxy fight, litigation
claims and any available
Delaware statutory appraisal rights.”
Southeastern Asset Management Inc. representatives feel that the $13.65 per
share price, which is a 25

percent premium to Dell’s
closing price the day before
the deal, is well below their
estimate of the company’s
value of approximately
$24 per share. A survey of
Dell’s 25 largest institutional
shareholders found that on
average they had bought
their stock at an estimated
$16.11 per share, almost three
dollars less than the offered
price. Barron’s, the weekly
financial publication, has
even criticized the deal and
stated that it believes different parts of the company
could be worth as much as
$25 per share, though Dell
shares have not traded at
that level in four years. Critics of the deal claim that
Michael Dell and his Wall
Street brethren are trying to
“steal” the company at such
a low price, according to the
Barron’s article. A spokesperson for Dell responded
to critics stating that the
Board “considered an array
of strategic alternatives”
and “the Board concluded
that the proposed all-cash
transaction is in the best
interests of stockholders.”
Silver Lake Partners, along
with the group of buyers, is
hopeful that the deal will be
completed by Q3 2013, but
it is uncertain of a specific
date at this time.

•President Obama proposed raising minumum
wage to $9.
•Consumer
credit
jumped $14.6 billion in
December after rising to
$15.9 billion in November.
•The trade deficit of
the United States fell
from $48 billion in November to $38.5 billion in
December. A spike in the
trade defecit is expected
for the month of January.

courtesy of the waLL street JournaL

SHARES OF Dell Inc. fails to gain support between the months of September and December. As rumors began to spread and the news was
released on the leveraged buyout, shares started to trade higher in late January and February.

THE AQUINAS

11

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Obama minimum wage plan renews economic debate
sam Hananel
Associated Press
President Barack Obama’s
call to raise the minimum
wage to $9 an hour and
boost it annually to keep
pace with inflation is already getting a trial run. Ten
states make similar cost-ofliving adjustments, including Washington state, where
workers earn at least $9.19
an hour, the highest minimum in the country.
In all, 19 states and the
District of Columbia have
minimum wages set above
the federal rate of $7.25, a
disparity Obama highlighted in his State of the Union
address as he seeks to help
the nation’s lowest paid
workers.
Obama’s proposal is renewing the age-old debate
between advocates who
claim boosting the minimum wage pumps more
money into the economy,
helping to create new jobs,
and business groups that
complain it would unfairly
burden employers and curb
demand for new workers.
And it faces certain hurdles in Congress, as top Republicans including House
Speaker John Boehner wasted little time dismissing the

proposal.
More than 15 million
workers earn the national
minimum wage, making
about $15,080 a year. That’s
just below the federal poverty threshold of $15,130 for
a family of two.
Selling his plan to a
crowd in Asheville, N.C., on
Wednesday, Obama said it’s
time to increase the minimum wage “because if you
work full-time, you shouldn’t
be in poverty.”
Advocates say a minimum wage increase can
lead to even broader economic benefits.
“These are workers who
are most likely to spend virtually everything they earn,
so it just pumps money back
into local economies,” said
Christine Owens, executive director of the National
Employment Law Project, a
worker advocacy group.
But William Dunkelberg,
chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business, said the
increase would hit businesses hard and only hurt lowwage workers by reducing
demand for their services.
“The higher the price of
anything, the less that will
be taken, and this includes
labor,” Dunkelberg said.

“Raising the cost of labor
raises the incentive for employers to find ways to use
less labor.”
Economists have long
disputed the broader impact of setting a minimum
wage. A major 1994 study
by labor economists David Card and Alan Krueger
found that a rise in New
Jersey’s minimum wage did
not reduce employment levels in the fast food industry.
Krueger now is chairman of
the White House Council of
Economic Advisers.
Yet that study has come
under fire from other economists, who argue that comparing different states over
time shows that raising the
minimum wage hurts job
growth.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics,
said that a higher minimum
wage would boost incomes
for some poorer workers.
But it would also discourage
employers from hiring more
of them.
“So on net, I am not sure
it helps,” he said.
The government first
set a minimum wage during the Great Depression in
1938. It has been raised 22
times since then — the last
increase went into effect in

2009 — but the value has
eroded over time due to inflation.
Obama’s
latest
plan
would raise the hourly minimum to $9 by 2015 and as
well as increase the minimum wage for tipped workers, which has not gone up
for more than two decades.
As for states that have
already set minimum wages
above the federal rate, they
range from $7.35 in Missouri
to the high of $9.19 in Washington. In 10 of those states,
the minimum wage is automatically adjusted every
year to keep pace with the
rising cost of living — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada,
Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and
Washington.
Women represent nearly
two thirds of minimum
wage workers, while black
and Hispanic workers represent a higher share of the
minimum wage work force
than whites, according to
the Economic Policy Institute.
The last federal minimum wage increase was
signed into law by President
George W. Bush, when it increased from $5.15 to $7.25
in a three-step process between 2007 and 2009.

The last recession began
in the middle of that process and took an especially
heavy toll on middle-wage
positions, which accounted
for 60 percent of jobs lost
in the crushing downturn.
Most of the job growth since
the 2010 recovery has been
in low-wage jobs. Owens,
for one, contends: “There’s
no compelling case to be
made that raising the minimum wage triggered job
losses.”
Doug Hall, director of
the liberal Economic Policy
Institute, estimates that raising the minimum wage to $9
would pump $21 billion into
the economy and lead to the
creation of 120,000 jobs.
But Randel Johnson, vice
president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for labor
issues, said the increase
would come “on the backs
of employers” who would
hire fewer people and cut
overtime.
“You don’t put new burdens on employers when
they are trying to recover in
a tough recessionary time,”
he said.
Johnson also warned
against tying wage increases to inflation.
“Employer profits are not
magically indexed somehow

to always go up,” Johnson
said. “Congress needs to
look at the validity of raising the minimum wage in
the context of the economic
times in which it’s being proposed.”
That concern is expected
to drive Republican opposition in Congress. Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio, who delivered the GOP response to
Obama’s State of the Union
address, said Wednesday
that boosting the minimum
wage is the wrong way to
help workers increase wages.
“I don’t think a minimum
wage works,” Rubio said on
“CBS This Morning. “I want
people to make more than
$9 dollars an hour. The problem is, you can’t mandate
that.”
Boehner,
the
House
speaker,
told
reporters
Wednesday: “When you
raise the price of employment, guess what happens?
You get less of it.”
The White House is
pointing to companies such
as Costco, Wal-Mart and
Stride Rite that have supported past increases in the
minimum wage, saying high
wages help build a strong
work force and lower turnover helps improve profit-

courtesy of the united states department of Labor

REAL MINIMUM wage value is currently close to its historical average value. The term “real” means that these statistics have been adjusted for inﬂation. President
Obama is considering raising the current minimum wage level.

Ofﬁcials worry about upcoming cuts
DaVe laFaman
Business Correspondant
Towards the end of 2012,
the imminent fiscal matter
that had everyone worried
was the fiscal cliff. Now
that the U.S has successfully averted the worst effects of the cliff, everyone
can shift focus to the debt
ceiling and the struggle
that the U.S. economy is
currently facing to reduce
its debt.
President Obama commented that last weekend
that “over the last few years,
Democrats and Republicans have come together
and cut our deficit by more
than $2.5 trillion through
a balanced mix of spending cuts and higher tax
rates…” This is a welcomed
statistic considering that it
is more than half of the $4
trillion in deficit reduction
that economists from both
sides agreed would stabilize the U.S debt. With $1.5

trillion left before the goal
is reached, the sequester
seems a practical solution.
The sequester is a series of automatic cuts to
government agencies that
will total around $1.2 trillion over the next ten years.
Bloomberg reports that, although this solution may
stabilize the national debt
compared with the broader
economy, the debt would
still fluctuate between 73
percent and 77 percent of
gross domestic product.
These would be the highest
levels in U.S. history except
for the time following the
end of World War II.
A report from the Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget wrote last
month that “lawmakers
have achieved only slightly more than half of the
minimum necessary deficit
reduction to achieve sustainability over the next
decade, only one-third
needed through 2040, and
only one sixth the reduc-

tion needed through 2080.”
The report also mentions
that the U.S. debt is on
course to exceed 100 percent in 2030 and as much
as 200 percent by 2050,
levels which are clearly unsustainable. The committee
concluded that there should
be another $2.2 trillion in
savings although congressional Republicans are aiming for a total of $4 trillion.
The sequester is set to start
March 1st and will result in
huge budget cuts, largely in
military spending but also
from the domestic side including national parks, federal courts, housing and aid
and more. House Speaker
John Boehner had this to
say about the sequester: “I
don’t like the sequester. I
think it’s taking a meat axe
to our government, a meat
axe to many programs that
will weaken our national
defense. Americans do not
support sacrificing real
spending cuts for more tax
hikes.”

President’s Business Council Plans Trip
The President’s Business Council (PBC), in conjunction with the Kania SOM
Business Club, is offering a Business Networking Trip to New York City on
Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Students will depart campus at 8:00 a.m. and
return after the evening reception. Throughout the morning and afternoon,
the group of students will meet with three alumni in their places of business
in mid-town Manhattan. Prior to returning to Scranton, the students will attend a networking reception with PBC Members and alumni in the New York
City area.
The PBC has several objectives in which the Council seeks to connect members and students in meaningful and productive ways. In order to meet these
objectives, the PBC provides programs like the Business Networking Trips in
various cities throughout the academic year, during which the students meet
both as a small group with business executives in their ofﬁces and with a
larger group of alumni and friends during the evening networking receptions.

Please visit the registration table in the lobby of Brennan Hall this week
and next to sign up or contact Michele.Felins@scranton.edu for more info.

Science Tech
12

THE AQUINAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Michelle D’Souza
Science & Technology Editor

study shows dangerous effects of concussions
micHelle D’souZa
Sci/Tech Editor
Football
season
just
ended with the Super Bowl.
Although the sport is a beloved American pastime,
many of the ex-players that
have made fans’ experience
with football so amazing
are suing the NFL. The various lawsuits of more than
a thousand players have
been combined into one
lawsuit against the NFL.
Why would so many
players sue the NFL? The
players filing suits have
experienced brain injuries
and concussions. Many
players believe that the
NFL misled them about the
degree of danger involved
with concussions and they
now want reparations.
It may seem a bit outlandish that a thousand
players are actually suing
the NFL for sustaining injuries while playing the game.
However, concussions can
be quite dangerous and
life-altering if they are acquired on a frequent basis.
It is important to know
what a concussion is to

understand how dangerous successive concussions
can be. Some people believe that a concussion involves the bruising of the
brain from hitting a hard
surface. Instead a concussion is caused by a violent
shaking of the brain, which
may or may not be caused
by hitting a hard surface.
When the head is shaken,
like when a linebacker gets
pummeled to the ground,
brain cells release a toxic
amount of neurotransmitters. This fries the receptors
that are related to memory
and learning. Once a person suffers a concussion,
he or she is more prone
to a second concussion.
The usual symptoms of a
concussion are confusion,
headaches and drowsiness.
When football players frequently experience
concussions, they can suffer from CTE. Chronic
traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE) disease is caused
by continual head blows
and
involves
impaired
cognitive abilities, depression and violent actions.
This disease is not only

common among football
players. It was originally
known as punch-drunk
syndrome because boxers, who aim for their
opponents’ heads, commonly fall prey to it.
The repetitive brain
trauma causes a deterioration of brain tissue and the
improper placement of the
protein tau in neurons. The
tau creates neurofibrillary
tangles that interfere with
normally-functioning neurons, which causes some of
the characteristic memory
loss associated with CTE.
The progressive tissue degeneration coupled with the
inappropriate distribution
of tau produces memory
loss, confusion, impaired
judgment, impulse control problems, aggression,
depression, and eventually, progressive dementia.
Even though CTE has
been known to affect boxers and other martial arts
fighters, recent studies
have shown the disease’s
prevalence in football players. Boston University published its findings on brain
trauma in December 2012

after looking at 85 cadaver
brains with prior mild brain
trauma (concussions). The
study included brains from
military veterans, athletes
and civilians, according to
Boston University’s report.
Researchers found an overwhelming rate of CTE in
former football players; 50
of those brains were those
of football players with CTE.
Their findings add to the
mounting evidence that
players who acquire CTE
because of successive head
injuries show symptoms
of depression, memory
loss and rage. The research
shows that even mild trauma can cause long-lasting
effects on the brain. The behavioral symptoms of CTE
have even been linked to
deaths; former NFL player
Shane Dronett suffered from
CTE and committed suicide.
With such hazardous
outcomes looming in the future for athletes, many people want to see more regulations in contact sports
like hockey and football.
Some even argue for a complete disbanding of sports
like boxing, in which ath-

letes aim to hit opponents’
heads as hard as they can.
Now with new lawsuits
and research connecting
concussions
and
long-

iOS and Google Android.
The Blackberry 10 OS
hopes to change this negative perspective. The BlackBerry 10 includes the staple
features expected in new
smartphones,
including
voice recognition and an almost entirely gesture-based
input using the touch screen.
One key aspect that differentiates the Z10 from
other smartphones is the
“BlackBerry Hub.” The hub
is designed to help user
manage all types of conversations, from business
emails to text messages
and social media updates,
from a single spot. It can
also be easily accessed from
other applications thanks
to the “peek” feature.
Another big trait to help
multitaskers is the “BlackBerry Flow.” Flow allows several apps to run at the same
time, and interact seamlessly with each other. This
can simplify several tasks
that require multiple apps,

such as taking a picture
and then instantly sharing
it with a specific group or
checking the latest tweets
from your contact list.
On top of these major OS
additions are an eight megapixel camera, 16 GB of internal storage, a browser with
HTML5 support and 4G LTE
compatibilities.One of the
most subtle changes to the
phone is that Brick Breaker,
which came standard and
is Blackberry’s most iconic
game, will not be included
in this new smartphone.
BlackBerry’s latest offering hopes to give its outdated operating systems a
much needed update and
appeal to its dedicated users while branching out to a
more-mainstream audience.
It will take a great deal of effort to unseat the top smartphone companies such as
Apple and Samsung, but
BlackBerry’s 10 OS hopes to
bring a much-needed lift to
a company on the rebound.

louis balZani
Staff Writer

that is simply unacceptable for a device that seeks
to accompany its users
throughout their entire day
of work. Even light usage
commonly results in battery life of no more than
three to four hours, a range
that is less than half of what
most of its competitors can
achieve. If Microsoft wants
the Surface Pro to be competitive, it absolutely must
achieve better battery life.
The Surface Pro also suffers from a physical design
that may frustrate some
users. With a weight of 907
grams, a thickness of over
13 millimeters and a very
horizontal aspect ratio,
the tablet becomes awkward and difficult to hold
in one or both hands for
extended periods of time.
In an attempt to alleviate this problem and improve the typing experience, Microsoft has opted
to integrate both touch-and
tactile-based
keyboards
into
stand-alone
cases
for the device. This innovation works extremely
well, but the keyboards
sell at a minimum of $100.
Given that the Surface
Pro already requires you to
shell out over $900 to purchase it, the steep price of
the keyboard may be too
much for some prospective buyers. Regrettably,
much of the tablet’s potential is lost without this
unique keyboard case, so
this only serves to further
damage its marketability.
With the Surface Pro in

term cognitive impairment, sports rules might
actually see a change, to
the chagrin or satisfaction of players and fans.

courtesy of wikimedia commons

FOOTBALL PLAYERS can accumulate concussions that cause long-term cognitive damage.

new blackberry set to arrive Microsoft tablets ﬂounder
cory burrell
Sports Editor
After facing stiff competition from Apple and Samsung, BlackBerry believes
it has found a way to once
again challenge the top spot
in the smartphone market.
BlackBerry Limited’s new
BlackBerry Z10 is slated for
release by most U.S. carriers in March, with a sleeker,
more modern operating
system the company hopes
can compete with other
smartphones on the market.
The BlackBerry line,
which has existed since
1999, is known for its use
by many business professionals and its large customer base, which was
reported by BlackBerry to
have exceeded 80 million
active users last September.
Recent models have been
criticized as outdated with
an inferior operating system compared to the Apple

The tablet space is one
of the most competitive
markets in the tech industry. From Apple’s iPads
and Google’s Nexus line to
Samsung’s Galaxy tablets
and beyond, there are dozens of handheld slates vying for consumers’ wallets.
After years of watching its rivals gain footholds
in the market, Microsoft
has finally thrown its hat
into the ring in the form
of the Surface and Surface Pro, two full-sized
tablets running versions
of their ever-popular Windows operating system.
These tablets are attempting to work as both a
media consumption device
and a legitimate productivity tool in equal measure.
While a great idea on paper, the products have been
met with lukewarm critical
reception and sales figures
that failed to impress even
the most optimistic analysts.
Why is this? What aspects of the Surface products have irked customers
and reviewers so profusely?
The answer to this question
is difficult and multifaceted,
but there are a few issues
that are obvious enough to
make note of fairly easily.
One of the most glaring problems lies within
the tablets’ relatively dire
power consumption. The
Surface Pro in particular
suffers from battery life

such a compromised position, surely the Windows
RT-based Surface fares
far better by comparison.
Unfortunately, this version of the tablet suffers
from its own shortcomings that hold it back.
Although it is noticeably
lighter, thinner and cooler
than the Surface Pro, the
Surface itself is powered
by a Tegra 3 processor that
is noticeably slower and
less powerful than its Intel brethren. Additionally,
the screen resolution is remarkably poor, so much so
that it makes even entrylevel and mid-range tablets of the same size look
gorgeous by comparison.
Microsoft is trying something bold and radical with
the Surface and Surface
Pro. These tablets are attempting to fuse a laptop
and a tablet into something new, something that
should be both portable
and productive. However,
in trying to achieve both,
Microsoft made too many
compromises and instead
accomplished
neither.
The
company
has
priced the Surface to be
competitive with most
other 10-inch tablets; likewise, the Surface Pro is
priced to be competitive
against many ultrabooks
and lightweight laptops.
These devices are absolutely a good first step for
Microsoft, but until they can
refine and improve the products, your time and money
is better spent elsewhere.

Students reﬂect in silence
cailin Potami
Staff Writer
While most students were
easing out of winter break
and preparing to return to
The University, a group of
eight students and three spiritual directors were at Chapman Lake, deepening their
relationships with God in the
silence of their hearts as part
of the Five Day Silent Retreat.
The Silent Retreat is a
variation of the Ignatian Retreat model, which surged in
popularity following Vatican
II. It begins in community on
the first day, at which time
the spiritual directors briefly
instruct the retreatants and
answer questions. The following five days are spent in
silence; this means no talking at meals or at nights, no
Facebook and no texting. The
retreatants are encouraged
to spend this silent time in
prayer and communion with
God. Each morning, everyone
gathers for prayer, a speech
on a spiritual topic and Mass.
In the evening, prayer and the
Examen are held. The only
time silence is broken each
day is when each retreatant
engages in conversational
prayer with a spiritual director, which could last from
around 20 to 40 minutes.
Some students take the time
to find God through spiritual
reading and others choose
to express their spirituality
through art.

This year’s Five Day Retreat was directed by the Rev.
Rick Malloy, S.J., Amy Hoegen
and Brian Pelcin. Hoegen said
the silence was an important
part of the retreat.
“[It] settles the body into
listening for the spirit of God,”
Hoegen said.
Chapman Lake proved
to be a beautiful location to
center one’s self , even in January’s frigid temperatures. Although the silence is initially
intimidating, with it comes a
sense of peace that can be a
rare treat to the typical college
student. It invites one to pray
intensely and reflect upon serious issues in both personal
and faith life.
Malloy said the cold
weather was not a drawback
for participants.
“The brilliant stars and full
moon in the 10-degree January air bespeaks the mystery
of God and fills us with awe
and wonder,” Malloy said.
Some retreatants did not
find the silence challenging.
“It really does not have to
be [difficult] if one truly immerses him or herself into the
experience. Once I did that, I
was able to fully reap the benefits from the retreat,” senior
Natalie Picciano said.
The Silent Retreat has a
unique emphasis on a personal, intimate connection with
God rather than shared faith
through bonding with others.
Hoegen compares it to a
romantic relationship.
“Sure, it’s fun to hang out

together in a group of friends,
but you need to take time to
look more deeply at your relationship,” she said.
It gives students an opportunity to analyze God’s
position in their lives, as well
as the role they play in God’s
divine plan.
Each retreatant who was
interviewed made one thing
very clear: a sense of community does blossom within
attendants of the retreat, regardless of the silence. People
are able to embark upon an
often frightening faith journey knowing that there are
others experiencing the same
fears, difficulties and triumphs.
“It’s not lonely or awkward,
because everyone else is seeking the same thing, seeking
God,” senior Katie Rotterman,
who has made the retreat
twice, said.
Fellow senior Daniel Satterfield describes the experience of solidarity as “feeling
[others’] spiritual presence
glowing.”
Retreatants have a chance
to share these feelings in communion at the retreat’s closing
and in the months following it.
It is a special experience that
leaves a lasting impact on the
lives of all who participate.
Malloy said he saw part of
that impact even during the
five days of the retreat.
“I see students come to a
deeper and more loving sense
of who they are as they are,
i.e., pilgrim people on the way

with Jesus,” Malloy said.
The Silent Retreat is recommended for students who
already are confident in their
faith at a foundational level,
but seek to deepen and intensify it. Attendants should
be interested in exploring different prayer methods. More
talkative students should not
shy from the retreat; they can
gain as much from the experience.
Senior Oliver Strickland
was initially apprehensive to
go on the retreat.
“I put off signing up for the
retreat thinking that I was not
yet ‘spiritually ready’ to enter
into the silence and deep contemplative prayer it entails,”
he said.
However, after attending the retreat, he said that
he feels “better equipped to
handle what the future may
throw my way and strive to
live the life of a contemplative
in action more consciously.”
Senior Lauren Guzzo describes a similar experience.
“I realized as the week went
on that it was not to get away
from it all, but to see things in
a better light and dive more
deeply into it,” she said.
There are two silent retreats a year, one three-day
retreat in November and the
Five Day Retreat, which occurs in the fall. The retreats
are a special way to center
one’s self and strengthen the
most important relationship
there is — a relationship with
the Lord.

University observes
Ash Wednesday

the aquinas photo / shawn kenney

ASHES ARE placed on foreheads at the Ash
Wednesday Mass, a Mass that marks the beginning of Lent.

anDrew milewski
Faith Editor
University students,
faculty and staff joined
Christians all across the
world by participating in
an Ash Wednesday Mass.
Ash Wednesday marks
the beginning of Lent
in the Roman Catholic
Church, and on this day,
practicing Catholics observe a strict fast from
meat as well as wear
ashes on their forehead,
a reminder of man’s mortality. Lent lasts 40 days
and ends with the celebration of Easter.
“Even if you’re not

Catholic, you should get
ashes to scare your family,” the Rev. Tim Cadigan,
S.J., said to his biology
class last week.
Some Catholics observe a strict fast, total
abstinence from meat
for the 40 days of Lent,
while others observe
fasting on Wednesdays
and Fridays. Still other
people stress the importance the prayer and
almsgiving.
However it is looked
at, Lent is a time to
better oneself, to quiet
down and to get closer to
God. It all began on Ash
Wednesday.

st. Valentine’s Day origins remain fuzzy
w. ryan scHuster
Staff Writer
Catholics
throughout
the world are purchasing
chocolate and flowers, sending cards to loved ones and
scrambling for reservations
at romantic candle-lit restaurants, all in observance of ,
you guessed it: the feast of
Saints Cyril and Methodius
today. Contrary to popular
belief, Feb. 14 is technically
no longer St. Valentine’s Day
on the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, but is
instead the commemoration
of the two brothers known
as the “Apostles to the Slavs.”
Saints Cyril and Methodius were born to a politically
powerful Greek family in
the Byzantine Empire in the
9th century. They renounced
political careers and chose
instead to become priests.
They were sent to preach the
Gospel to the Slavic peoples
of the region of Eastern Europe known as Great Moravia, where Western missionaries had labored with
limited success.
The brothers devised the
Glagolithic alphabet for recording Old Church Slavonic, the version of the local
vernacular used for liturgy.
Glagolithic became the Cyrillic alphabet, named for Saint
Cyril, which Eastern European languages like Russian
continue to use today. After
the deaths of St. Cyril and St.

Methodius in 869 A.D. and
885 A.D., respectively, their
students continued their
missionary work in Eastern
Europe. In 1980, Pope John
Paul II declared Saints Cyril
and Methodius the patrons
of all of Europe, together
with St. Benedict of Nursia.
What about Saint Valentine, then? Up until the
Second Vatican Council, the
Church did celebrate the
martyr’s feast on February
14. However, in the 1969 revision of the General Roman
Calendar, the feast of St.
Valentine was removed and
relegated to an optional local
observance.
A lack of historical data
about St. Valentine results
from the likely destruction
of most contemporary records of him during the persecution of Christians by the
Roman Emperor Diocletian.
The situation grows more
complicated due to the fact
that early martyrologies,
catalogues of martyrs and
other saints, actually mention three different martyrs
named Valentine in association with Feb. 14. Two were
priests martyred in the second half of the third century
and buried outside of Rome,
and the third died in Africa.
Pious legend fills in the details about these saints,
usually conflated into one
person. A popular account
holds that St. Valentine was
imprisoned for performing

illegal marriages for Roman
soldiers, who were prohibited from marrying, and for
ministering to persecuted
Christians. Interrogated by
the Emperor Claudius II, Valentine tried to convert him
to Christianity, for which he
was executed. Before his execution, he performed a miracle by restoring sight to his
jailer’s blind daughter, which
prompted her and her family
to convert to the Christian
faith.
Common Valentine’s Day
customs have roots in traditions surrounding St. Valentine’s life: legend has it that
he left the girl he healed
a farewell note, which he
signed “From your Valentine.” Another tradition holds
that St.Valentine would cut
hearts from parchment and
give them to the Christian
communities he served as
a reminder of God’s love.
These traditions came to be
associated with romantic
love during the age of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High
Middle Ages. By the 15th century, the celebration of Saint
Valentine’s Day included exchanging candy, flowers, and
cards known as “Valentines”
between lovers as a sign of
love. The romantic appropriation of St. Valentine’s Day
might stem from a medieval
belief in England and France
that midway through the
second month of the year,
birds began to pair.

14

THE AQUINAS

International Business Club hosts Chinese New Year celebrations for NEPA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Public Relations Student Society
of America: Scranton Chapter
PRSSA will be holding a meeting Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.
in the Loyola Science Center Room 406.

the international business club hosted “Families with children from china/asia:
chinese new year’s celebration” saturday.

There will also be a logo design competition for
PRSSA. The entire student body is welcome to
participate.

the chinese new year was sunday, and this year is the year of the snake. Despite
the snowy weather, more than 40 families in the nePa area came with 60 children
between the ages of ﬁve months to 18.

For more information about PRSSA, contact the
Colin Gable, the chapter president at
colin.gable@scranton.edu.

the event was planned under the leadership of jan trussler, Ph.D., by jan wessel
(President), Pamela markham (Vice President), steve bravo (treasurer) and nicole Piotrowski (secretary). there were more than 20 students who volunteered to prepare
and host the event. the club has plans to continue holding this event in the future.

university veterans
club
The Veterans Club is holding its ﬁrst meeting
Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Sylvester Conference
Room (627 O’Hara Hall).
There will be two meeting times for all students
and veterans interested: 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. and 5
p.m. - 6 p.m. The agenda at the meetings will
include an election of ofﬁcers, development of a
mission statement and a schedule of activities.
If you are interested in attending either of the
meetings, contact the moderator of the Veterans
Club, Robert Zelno at robert.zelno@scranton.edu.

The Aquinas Challenge:
Sudoku-razy

submitted photo: Jan wesseL for the aquinas

PARENTS, CHILDREN and members of the International Business Club are celebrating the Chinese
New Year. Attendees danced with red and gold ribbons to celebrate the event.

Congratulations extended to faculty
the following faculty members have been granted promotion and/or tenure,
effective aug. 26, 2013.

THE AQUINAS CHALLENGE RULES:
Finish the puzzle and turn it into The
Aquinas ofﬁce ﬁrst to win an AQ T-shirt.
If the ofﬁce is closed, leave it with the Student Forum desk with a time stamp.

IGNITE: Student
Leadership
Conference
The Center for Student Engagement is hosting its annual IGNITE Student Leadership
Conference Saturday, Feb. 23.
The day-long program will feature a keynote
address by author and leadership expert Ed
Gerety.
Gerety wrote “Combinations: Opening the
Door to Student Leadership,” and has spoken at many universities, colleges, youth
conferences, schools and other organizations.
For more information or to register, visit
www.scranton.edu/leadership, email leadership@scranton.edu or call at 570-941-6233.

THE AQUINAS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

Women’s basketball falls short
emma black
Staff Writer
After a slow start
against
nationallyranked, Catholic University, the Lady Royals
were unable to rally for a
victory and fell 69-52 on
Saturday evening at the
Long Center. It was only
the second time in the 24
game-history
between
the two teams that the
Lady Royals dropped
a home game against
Catholic
Prior to tipoff, guard
Katherine Torto and forward Erin Boggan were
honored as co-recipients
of the Dr. Harold Davis
Award, an award that
recognizes the Lady Royals’ most valuable senior.
Torto opened the scoring
for the Lady Royals in
the 17th minute, but the
team could not find the
basket again until the
15th minute. By then,
the players found themselves on the short end
of a 20-4 score.
After trailing by as
many as 18 points in the
first half, an 11-1 run in
the final 4:19 of the half
helped the Lady Royals
close the gap to 32-25 at
intermission.
Coming out of the
locker room, Boggan,
who finished the game
with 10 points, sparked
the team with two early
three-pointers.
Quickly after, sophomore forward Meredith
Mesaris made a free
throw, cutting Catholic’s
lead to just 5 points and
making the score 37-32.
Mesaris, who leads the
team offensively this
season, is averaging 17.6
points per game and was
ranked 20th in the na-

15

“MEN’S SWIMMING” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
very proud of this team.”
Senior diver Tim McCormick spoke about his time
as a diver. The divers participate in a total of 17 dives
using 11 different styles of
diving. The dive team started last year and McCormick
was the only diver for the
men’s team this year. He
finished first in the 1-meter diving and second in
the 3-meter board. He also

set school records in both
events.
“I was really happy with
how I did personally this
weekend,”
McCormick
said. “I would really like to
see this program continue
to grow, especially on the
men’s team. The whole conference improved a lot this
year and I hope that continues, because it will bring in
better competition.”

Tim finishes his career
with three gold medals
and one silver. The dive
team participated in several
meets throughout the season, but their biggest event
each year is Landmark Conference Championships.
The men’s team capped
off a very successful year at
champs. This year they finished 8-2 and also won the
Diamond City Invitational.

the aquinas photo / emma bLack

FIRST YEAR Jaclyn Gantz fights against two Catholic players for the ball in Sundays game against
Catholic. The Lady Royals lost to Catholic 69 - 52.

tion in scoring earlier
this year.
“We all really hate losing, especially to Catholic. They’re one of our
biggest rivals, so we
just all have to regroup
and refocus and just
get ready for Moravian
on Wednesday,” Mesaris said. “I think our effort wasn’t there in the
beginning of the game
[against Catholic], and
they really just showed
that they wanted it more
than we did.”
“Catholic is just a
very, very good team,”
head coach Mike Strong
said. “They executed and
they ran better than we
did. We rebounded with
them a little bit better
this trip than we did
the last time, but it just
wasn’t one of our better
games, and they played
well.”
Following the Mesaris free throw, Catholic went on a 26-5 run,

making it difficult for
the Lady Royals to come
back. The Lady Royals
shot only 25.4 percent in
the effort, but they out
rebounded the Cardinals
45-39.
First-year guard Noelle Alicea led the team
in scoring with 11 points.
Sophomore guard Stephanie Keyes added 8
points.
Coach Strong said the
team will likely enter
playoffs as the third or
fourth seed.
The loss was the only
the second time the Lady
Royals have lost on their
home court this season
and the first home court
loss in the Landmark
Conference this season.
The team is now 16-7
overall and in third place
at 8-4 in the conference.
Scranton will return
to action at Goucher College Saturday at 5 p.m.
in their final regular season game of the year.

the aquinas photo / emma bLack

SENIOR NATHAN Wynosky races in the 1650 freestyle Sunday at the Landmark
Conference Championship. Wynosky finished fourth in the race, while first year
Mitchell Colby finished second and set a school record with a time of 16:25.85.

“WOMEN’S SWIMMING” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
this year.
It has grown from only
two members to four.
Sophomore
Colleen
Barry led the way with a
gold medal in the 3 meter
board and was named the
women’s conference diver

of the year.
“I did a lot better this
year than last year, and
everyone else dove really
well. We were more of a
team this year; we had four
girls as compared to only
two last year. We were all

committed and practiced
together throughout the
season. All of the divers
really came together well
during the training trip.
We all would want to see
more people join the team
in the future,” Barry said.

Flesche leads team by example
carmine
gerrity-gemei
Staff Writer
Shawn
Flesche
has
made an impact for the
wrestling team this year.
The sophomore captain
has a 16-6 individual record this season and won
two tournaments in the
165-weight class, including the Mt. St. Vincent
Invitational Jan. 19 in
Riverdale, N.Y., and the
Builder Invitational Jan. 26
in Newport News, Va. Flesche also earned Scranton
Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Jan.
14 - 20.
Flesche said his duties
as a captain have motivated not only himself,
but his fellow teammates.
“There is a lot of responsibility involved [in
being a captain] and I’ve
always felt like leading
by example is the best
way,” Flesche said. “In the
beginning of the season
there was a little pressure,
but the other athletes on
our team have been influ-

enced to do better from
the work ethic of myself
and other members of the
team.”
After finishing his first
collegiate season with a
16-15 record, Flesche has
shown remarkable improvement. Flesche said
he credits his work ethic
for much of the improvement.
“The way I have been
active in practice and recruiting has helped me get
better as a person and get
more confidence,” Flesche
said.
Flesche said he considers the team’s season
a success so far even
though its record is 4-8.
He said he feels that the
team has grown immensely since last season and
already improved on last
season’s record.
The Royals are riding
a two-match win streak
after defeating Yeshiva
University 51-0 on Jan. 30
and Mt. St. Vincent 32-12
Sunday. Flesche won his
sole match of the meet by
pin, giving him his 33rd
victory of his career.

Flesche said he is confident the team will remain
focused during the more
than three-week break before NCAA East Regional.
“That’s all going to start
with our practicing and
attitude in the room,” Flesche said.
“We’ve got great coaches and wrestlers in the
room who will keep this
momentum going, will
keep this fire burning... I
know for a fact that our
coaches as well as I and
the other captains will
not let this team let up or
slack off. We’re actually
going to be going harder
than we have all season
practice-wise.”
The secondary education and history major
said he would one day like
to coach wrestling, either
at the collegiate or high
school level.
Even as an underclassman, Flesche has been a
stabilizing force on the
team, both on the mat and
as a leader. For Flesche,
the NCAA regional meet is
the final goal for this team
to show its improvement.

SOPHOMORE SHAWN Flesche (left) competes in a recent match. Flesche has
a 16 - 6 record this season and will compete in the NCAA Division III East Regional Tournament March 2.

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right off the
scranton
expressway, 1/2
mile past the
Viewmont mall.
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scranton, Pa
18508
contact us at:
570-347-5995

Swimming and diving team make splash in championships
anDrew Passaro
Sports Correspondent

anDrew Passaro
Sports Correspondent

The University’s men’s
swimming and diving team
finished third at the Landmark Conference championships this weekend.
The Royals set seven new
records and had a total of
nine top-three finishers in
the pool this weekend.
The Royals were led by
first-year standout Mitch
Colby, who set records in
the 1650 freestyle and the
500 freestyle. Colby also
swam the backstroke portion of the 400 medley
team, which set a record
and finished third. Colby
was joined by junior John
Hughes (breaststroke), senior captain Steve Nicolosi
(butterfly) and sophomore
Ryan Holmes (freestyle).
Hughes broke his own record in the 100 breaststroke
with his second-place finish. Hughes also picked up
a silver medal and record
in the 200 medley race with
first year Nicholas Hennig
(backstroke), Nicolosi (butterfly) and senior Andrew
Urban (freestyle).
Senior Tim McCormick
won both the 1-meter diving and also broke his own
record on the 1- and 3-meter boards. Other top-three
finishes included Hennig,
who finished second in
the 200 individual medley;
Nicolosi, who finished second in the 100 butterfly;
and Colby, who finished
third in the 400 IM. Other
notable finishes include
the third-place finish of the

The University’s women’s swim team finished
second at the Landmark
Conference
championships for the third straight
year. The women set four
records this weekend at
the Marywood Aquatic
Center.
Sophomores
Paige
Agnello, Alexis Walsh and
Colleen Barry all set records at the meet. Agnello
won the 100 breaststroke
and broke her own record.
Walsh, who won the 200
breaststroke, set a Royal
record and a pool record.
Barry won the 3-meter
diving and finished second in the 1-meter diving,
setting records in both
events. Barry was also
named the conference
diver of the year.
Another top finisher
was Sara Franciscovich, a
junior who came in third
in the 200 backstroke,
second in the 50 freestyle
and third in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Kaitlyn
Maloney finished second
in the 400 IM. Agnello finished second in the 200
breaststroke and Walsh
finished second in the 100
breaststroke. The Royals
had some good success
with the relay portion of
the meet. The team of
Franciscovich, first year
Julia Murphy and juniors
Jessica Merino and Kelsy

the aquinas photo / emma bLack

800 freestyle team of Colby,
sophomore Dereck Parrot,
first year Kyle Burnett and
senior Nate Wynosky and
the third-place victory of
the 400 freestyle relay of
Urban, Holmes, Parrot and
first year Grant Owens.
“This has been a great
season,” Nicolosi said. “I
had some good times, no
lifetime best times, but still
a great season. It was a
little bit of a disappointing
finish, but hopefully it can
motivate the team in the
future to have success next
season. We went 8-2 with
losses to two good teams;
it was an absolutely great
season. I’m really happy and

See “MEN’S
SWIMMING,”
Page 15

submitted photo: maggie mcgLynn for the aquinas

SOPHOMORE JEAN Park (top) and first year Julia Murphy compete in the 100 freestyle final Sunday. The
women’s swimming and diving team placed second in
the Landmark Conference Championship. Senior Timothy McCormick (bottom) dives in the Landmark Conference Championship Saturday. McCormick set school
records in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

Men’s basketball upsets ranked rival
justin Dwyer
Staff Writer
The University’s men’s
basketball team defeated
Landmark Conference rival
Catholic University 82-74
Saturday at the John Long
Center on Senior Night.
The Royals never trailed
in the first half and took a
commanding 20-point lead
going into the locker room.
The Cardinals, after
shooting 37 percent from
the field in first half, came
out shooting on all cylinders
and went on a 25-9 run in
the second half to make it a
2 point game with 4:27 left.
Scranton scored only one
point in nearly a five-minute span, but then first year
forward Brendan Boken

UPCOMING
GAMES

McAnelly finished second
in the 200 freestyle relay.
The team of Franciscovich (backstroke), Agnello
(breaststroke), McAnelly
(butterfly) and Murphy
(freestyle) won the third
in the 400 medley and
second in the 200 medley
relays. The team of first
years Megan Conner and
Hannah Scobee, sophomore Jean Park and Maloney finished third in the
800 freestyle relay.
Senior Jenny Fitzmaurice commented on the
weekend. She had a best
time in her 100 breaststroke and finished fourth
behind Agnello and Walsh.
“I was very happy
with my time. We were
very close to sweeping
the event. I was happy
with the second place at
champs. Our underclassmen really showed up this
weekend. We had some
great swims. Our breaststrokers did very well,”
Fitzmaurice said. “We only
had one in-conference loss
and finished second at the
Diamond City Invitational to a Division II team.
Overall it was a great season, and I’m very proud of
this team.”
The dive team made a
serious impact at the meet
this year. It has grown

See “WOMEN’S
SWIMMING,”
Page 15

#theAQview
This week’s theme:
Show your Scranton Love

and junior guard Tommy
Morgan made clutch baskets late in the game as the
Royals eventually went on a
10-2 run to seal the win.
Senior guard Travis Farrell said stopping some of
their key players played a
large role in the win.
“We knew that if we
stopped their point guard
and center that we would
create ball pressure and it
would make it difficult for
them to inbound. If they
did drive the lane we had to
help as a team and we did
that pretty well tonight,”
Farrell said.
Catholic’s senior forward
Chris Kearney scored 22
of his game high 30 points
in the second half, but the
Cardinals could not get the
win.

Scranton
sophomore
Ross Danzig scored all 17 of
his points in the first half,
while Farrell had 15 points
and Morgan finished with
10.
Before the game, seniors
Tim Lavelle and Farrell were
honored for their hard work
and contributions made
to the basketball program
throughout their careers.
Farrell said Senior Night
motivated the team and
gave them another reason
to want to defeat their Conference rival.
“Catholic is our biggest
rival and we don’t like those
guys at all. Everyone knew
we had to come out hard
and we did,” Farrell said.
The
Cardinals
were
ranked 8th in the nation
according to D3Hoops.com

and are now 20-3 overall
and 10-2 in Landmark Conference play.
Scranton can clinch the
second seed in the Landmark Conference Tournament and a semifinal home
game with one more win.
Farrell said the team has
to continue playing tough
basketball to finish out the
season.
“We just got to keep
playing hard and not take
any team easy. We just have
to win the last two and
clinch second place in Conference,” Farrell said.
The Royals are now 8-4
in Conference play and 17-6
overall. They will be back
in action 7 p.m. Wednesday
night when they travel to
face Moravian in a Landmark Conference game.

The steps:
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2. Include #theAQview in your caption.
3. The AQ staff will pick the photo with
the best perspective.
4. The winner of a free T-shirt will be
announced in the next issue.
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“I always thought it would be neat to make the Olympic team.”
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